WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee wants the panel to vote as soon as Thursday on a bipartisan bill aimed at protecting the U.S. Special Counsel investigating alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with President Donald Trump's campaign, CNN reported.

Chairman Chuck Grassley, one of Trump's fellow Republicans, told CNN the vote could get pushed back to next week, a CNN reporter said on Twitter. The bill combines two separate bipartisan measures introduced last year to protect the special counsel, Robert Mueller, and his probe.